Suicide by Cop
by Kevin Caruso
Suicide by Cop occurs when people want to die but do not want to kill themselves. So they put themselves in a position where a police officer is forced to shoot them.
Suicide by cop incidents are extremely dangerous to police officers because they never
know if the individual will try to kill them too.
Some suicidal individuals will point an empty gun at the police because they know
that the police will shoot back in self-defense.
Yet others will have a loaded gun and will want to kill as many police officers as possible before they die.
Most police officers who are involved in suicide by cop incidents suffer emotional difficulties afterwards, and sometimes even suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
And some people who die from suicide by cop leave notes explaining their reasons for taking their actions, and sometimes they apologize to the officers.
Suicide by cop occurs more frequently than most people would imagine. In a study that was published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, researchers analyzed data from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The researchers concluded that suicide by cop was surprisingly common and the number of incidents was rising.
Researchers studied data from 1987 through 1997 and found that 11 percent of officer-involved shootings were suicide by cop incidents.
Other findings from the study about those who were involved in suicide by cop incidents:
- 98 percent were male
- 39 percent had a history of domestic violence
- Many individuals abused alcohol and/or drugs
- Many individuals had a prior history of suicide attempts
- About 50 percent of the weapons used were loaded
- 17 percent used a toy or replica gun
If you even have the slightest thought in your mind about dying from suicide by cop, you need to get treatment immediately.
You probably have an untreated mental illness, like depression.
Depression is the number one cause for suicide.
Dying from suicide by cop endangers the life of officers as well as civilians, and it is always the wrong thing to do.
Suicide is never the answer to any problem.
Suicide by cop is never the answer to any problem.
Please reach out for help if you have suicidal thoughts of any kind.
If you or someone you know is suicidal, please go to the Home Page of this website for immediate help.
Thank you.
I love you.
Take care,
Kevin Caruso
